New SFN partner for World Association of Newspapers

Atex, the world’s leading provider of content management software and services to the global media industry, has become the latest Strategic Business Partner of the World Association of Newspapers in the Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project, it was announced Thursday.

Atex will make a significant investment in the SFN project, which identifies, analyses and publicises all important operational and strategic developments that could benefit the future of newspapers all over the world. The SFN web site can be found at www.futureofthenewspaper.com.

"This is a natural and logical partnership," said Timothy Balding, CEO of the Paris-based WAN, the global association for the world’s newspaper industry."Atex has emerged as the world’s leading supplier of content management and advertising systems, which are critical tools to increasing productivity and improving performance in the complex modern media company. Atex’s investment and expertise are important resources for the project, in light of the rapid cross-media and multi-platform growth of newspapers."

John Hawkins, Group CEO of Atex, said: "Atex Group is investing heavily to expand our portfolio of innovative software productivity tools and multimedia applications designed for print and digital media. These solutions will enable our industry to become more efficient with print and online products, as well as to generate new revenue streams for news and advertising content. We have the technology to propel our industry into the digital world.

"The Atex investment in this WAN partnership will ensure that media companies successfully engage with consumers, whether through the printed word, mobile, online, or other digital devices. In short, ‘any media, anytime, anywhere, any channel.’ Atex looks forward to working with WAN and the other strategic partners for the benefit of its global members.”

Atex is a leading provider of software solutions and services to the global media industry, with a 35-year history of continuous innovation and commitment to quality. Atex has created the largest digital advertising and editorial content management and multimedia software delivery capability in the world. The company has nearly $1 billion USD worth of software installed worldwide and supports in excess of 800 customers in more than 40 countries.

Other partners in the SFN project include PubliGroupe, the Swiss-based international advertising and promotion group; MAN Roland, a leading company for newspaper production systems; UPM-Kymmene, one of the world’s leading printing paper producers; and Telenor, the leading Norwegian telecommunications, IT and media group.

The SFN project, an exclusive service to WAN members, provides regular Strategy Reports on industry developments, a library of case studies and business ideas, and a wealth of other vital information for all those who need to follow press industry trends. More on the project can be found at www.futureofthenewspaper.com.

 
 
Date Posted: 3 January 2008 Last Modified: 3 January 2008